The Personal Trainer
by Scarlet'sLetter
Summary: Big shot actress Rose Hathaway has just two months to get in shape for a major role. Knowing that she's a notorious sweet talker, her agent hires a no nonsense fitness trainer who can guarantee results. When she finds herself falling for him, she realizes that being involved with him would create a huge scandal, thanks to his past. Is that enough to stop her?
1. Chapter 1

I don't have much to say about this. Hope you enjoy it. :)  
Disclaimer - Don't own VA.

* * *

"Have you seen _this_?"

I looked up blearily. My teeny tiny agent, Mia, towered over me, looking beyond pissed off.

"God, Mia," I muttered, biting back a yawn. "What time is it?"

"Seven," she said impatiently, shoving her IPad Mini into my face. "Read."

I pushed her away and ducked under my blanket. "Nothing can be that important at 7 am. Go away."

"'Trouble in paradise?'" Mia said loudly. My eyes snapped open. "'Oscar winning actress Rose Hathaway was spotted leaving a restaurant looking less than pleased." I sat up, ignoring the smug look Mia gave me. "Hathaway, who was on a date with beau Jesse Zeklos, went home empty handed. Witnesses say that there was an argument and Hathaway abruptly stormed off-'"

"Stop," I groaned, burying my head in my hands.

Mia sobered up."This can't be happening, Rose," she said tensely. "You cannot have this diva reputation. We've worked so hard on your image." She threw the IPad onto my lap. "This," she said, pointing at the stupid device, "Is bad publicity."

"I know that," I snapped.

"I don't think you do. Last week you flipped off the paparazzi. And verbally abused them."

"They were in my way," I grumbled. "And I was hungover."

"That's no excuse, Rose!" She started pacing. _Click click click. _Mia always paced. She could double as a human metronome. "You're supposed to be America's sweetheart! The adorkable, funny, easy going star. Not the spoilt brat!"

"He called me _pudgy_, Mia." I felt my anger rise. "Jesse called me pudgy in front of the waiter!" I cried. "I can't just let something like that go!"

Mia just looked at me."Stand up," she commanded. I rolled my eyes and stood. "Did it ever occur to you that he may have been joking?"

"He was _not _kidding," I growled. Mia circled me, scrutinizing me like I was some freaky science experiment. It was making me self-conscious. "Being curvy doesn't make me chubby. I'm proud of my curves."

Mia shrugged. "Well, he's not wrong."

_"Mia!" _

She met my gaze calmly. "I'm serious, Rose. You _were_ curvy. You've put on a lot more weight." She frowned. "When was the last time you worked out? When was the last time you ate a fruit?"

"I had strawberries yesterday."

"Without whipped cream?"

I looked away. "I'm not fat," I said defensively.

"You're not healthy either," Mia countered, examining my room. It was littered with empty candy wrappers, soda bottles and ice cream cartons. She looked at me questioningly.

"I was upset," I shrugged. "Had a girl's night."

"Alone?"

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not pathetic. Lissa and Avery came over."

"Where are they?" she asked, looking around.

I scratched my head. "I don't know. Somewhere in here."

Mia sighed, and then gasped. "Oh! That wasn't the only reason I came by." She grinned. "I totally deserve a raise for doing this."

Mia never gets excited for a role. I perked up. "You," she said dramatically, "Are going to be the new Bond Girl!"

_Oh. My god._

I gaped at her. "Bond as in James Bond?"

_OhmygodohmygodOHMYGO-_

"Well, not exactly."

_Oh._

"You're going to be the Young Bond Girl."

_Okay, what?_

"You're not making any sense," I told her.

"It's basically James Bond in college. It's still just as cool as the regular films, except that there won't be a ridiculous age difference between the leads." She frowned. "I still can't believe I'm the only one who finds that creepy."

"That's actually not a bad idea," I said slowly.

"That's not the best part!" she squealed. "Oh. Wait." Her voice fell flat. "You're not going to be happy anymore."

"What is it?" I asked warily.

She hesitated. "The male lead. It's Jesse."

I didn't even need to think about it. "I'm not doing it."

"Rose!" Mia cried. "Come _on! _This is huge! I worked really hard to get you this role, and you are _not _going to waste this opportunity because of some stupid fight!"

"Mia," I growled. She was going too far.

She kept on pushing. "Rose, think about it. The two of you have been dating for more than two years. This is the first film you've starred in together! We're talking _major_ money here."

The logical part of me reared it's head. She was right. This could not only boost my fame, but also result in some heavy cash inflow. Mia could sense the change in my demeanour. "Come on, Rose," she urged. "It was just an argument. Not a huge fight. You love him, remember?"

_Do I?_

I pushed that thought away. She was definitely right. "You're right," I said finally. "I can't let this opportunity slip. I've been waiting for a role like this for months."

Mia grinned triumphantly. "I'll call the producers." She literally skipped away from me. "I want a raise!" she called.

I smiled slightly. She could be such a kid sometimes. "When's the audition?"

"Oh, there's no audition," she said distractedly, tapping away at her phone. "The producers had initially wrote their script with some other actress in mind, I made them watch your latest flick. It took little convincing from there to give it to you."

I was stunned. "So they just offered it to me?"

Mia nodded. "That and they thought that your relationship would add to the popularity of the movie. Thanks to me, again."

"Smart," I noted. I walked towards my mini fridge. "When does filming start?"

"Two months."

"_What?" _I nearly dropped my can of Coke. "Mia, I'm not in shape! Two months isn't enough! Have you _seen_ those girls? They're all thin and bendy!"

"Oh, don't worry about that." She was strangely calm. "I hired a personal trainer. He promised to get you in shape before filming starts."

"I don't need a personal trainer. I already have one, in case you've forgotten. At this point, I need a miracle."

"Oh please. You've got Mason wrapped around your finger. And I'mgiving you your miracle. Just trust me."

"It's called charm," I informed, popping open the can. Mia looked at me disapprovingly. "What? It's diet."

"Well, no amount of charm is going to work on this guy," she said confidently.

"Oh?" I really wished I could raise an eyebrow. "You seem pretty sure of him."

"You should look him up on his website. He doesn't look all warm and fuzzy like Mason. Even his name is scary."

I laughed. "Exaggerate much?"

"Seriously!" she insisted. "I met with him yesterday and I was a little terrified. He was all stoic and stiff, but warmed up pretty quickly."

"I don't see how that's a problem. He'll warm up to me too."

Mia shook her head. "He only warmed up because he saw how scared and pathetically tiny I was. He's so freakin _tall_. I couldn't touch his shoulder even after raising my hand and standing on my toes!" That wasn't that hard to believe. Mia stood at a pitiful height of five feet. Her expression grew slightly dreamy. "But he's so-"

The doorbell rang.

Mia perked up. "Oh, he's here!"

I stared at her in shock. "You're joking, right?"

She shook her head and reached for the door. "He said he wanted to get started right away. Clean yourself up and meet us downstairs in the dining room in ten minutes."

"Thanks for the warning," I muttered.

"I called you a million times last night," she called from the doorway. "And I don't think he'll have any qualms coming up here and dragging your ass downstairs. _Ten minutes."_

"Whatever." I turned away, heading for the bathroom. "Wait, what's his name?"

"Dimitri Belikov."

**X-X**

Fifteen minutes later, I was running down the stairs. And jerked to a halt.

When Mia described the trainer, I thought he'd be some overly buff guy who was balding in his forties. Someone who would scream and yell with spittle flying everywhere or something.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

Even though I could only see his back, I could tell he was hot. He was nearly a foot taller than me and was muscled in all the right places. Long, brown hair hung loosely just above his shoulders. Mia was talking animatedly, and he laughed at something he said. It was a beautiful, rich laugh that made me want to melt. She noticed me ogling and grinned. Waving her hands, she said, "Rose! Come on!"

Dimitri -_swoon worthy name_- turned around and I swear my heart skipped a beat. _Hot_ wasn't an adequete enough word. The people from People magazine had clearly never seen this specimen before while deciding who was going to be the next Sexiest Man Alive. Gorgeous warm brown eyes and absolutely perfect features. He was even hotter than Jesse (and that was saying something)

But those warm eyes turned hard and narrowed the second he saw me.

_Um, ouch?_

"You're late."

Now I know why they say, 'Don't judge a book by it's cover.'

Before I could defend myself, my darling chef burst through the kitchen doors.

"Rosemarie," Viktor sang, embracing me so tightly I could barely breathe. Mia and I were used to his over enthusiasm, but Dimitri raised an eyebrow at the display of affection.

From my periphery, I saw Mia whisper something to Dimitri. Understanding dawned on his face. I wanted to smack my head.

_Oh god. Please don't tell me he thinks Viktor is my _boyfriend. Dimitri didn't seem like to type of guy who kept up with celebrity relationships, so I doubt he knew about Jesse. And this wouldn't be the first time people had made that assumption.

Viktor pulled back and chattered away. "I was worried you wouldn't be awake for breakfast, because I made your favourite!" He peered over my shoulder. "I see you have guests. No need to worry, there's enough for everyone." He clapped his hands and around half a dozen waiters emerged from the doorway, each having a plate in hand.

As soon as the aroma hit me, I gasped and hugged Viktor. "French toast!" I crowed. "Thank you, Viktor! I was starv-"

"Stop."

There was so much authority in his voice that the waiters actually stopped and shifted nervously. Viktor shot Dimitri a questioning look.

"Take that back," Dimitri ordered. Viktor's horrified expression mirrored mine.

"Okay, hold it right there, mister," I huffed, placing my hands on my hips. I glared at him. "Who the hell do you think you are, ordering around my staff like that?"

Dimitri looked at Mia. "She doesn't know?"

Mia shot me an irritated look. "She does," she replied, voice clipped. "She just didn't know what exactly you had planned."

Dimitri turned back to me. "Miss Hathaway, if you want to even remotely resemble a Bond Girl in two short months, you need to listen to me. From now on, you're going to be exercising everyday for at least four hours. I'm also going to dictate your diet. Starting with no french toast." With a withering look, he shooed the waiters back. "Now that you know what I've planned, I'm going to visit your kitchen."

He didn't even wait for any of us. When he left, Viktor shot me a tortured look and hurried after him.

I spun around. "What. Have. You. Done?" I growled.

Mia giggled. "Isn't he amazing?"

"No!" I exclaimed. "I don't like him, Mia. He's not only incredibly rude, but also gave poor Viktor a heart attack. And he just scared my staff and didn't let me eat my food and he's just being a colossal asshat!" I gripped her arms. "Why can'tyou see that you're making a terrible mistake?

She just rolled her eyes and shook me off. "Viktor will be fine. And you're only miffed because he didn't swoon at the mere sight at you, like eyeryone. Unlike you." She nudged me, and even had the audacity to wink! "I thought you were about to drool."

"Oh _please_," I scoffed. "He's not even that hot." _Liar liar, pants on fire. "_And 'dictate my diet'? What the hell was that?"

"Don't mock him," Mia chided. "And he's right, Rose. If you really want this role, you're going to have to listen to everything he says."

"I still don't like him," I grumbled.

"You don't really have a choice," she reminded. She suddenly giggled again. "And, um, Dimitri thought Viktor was your lover."

"I knew it!" I wrinkled my nose. "Jesse freaked out the first time he saw Viktor hug me like that too."

"It really doesn't look like the type of hug a friend or and employee would give, you know," she laughed.

"I know," I sighed. "But _ew_. He's like, forty or something. And gay. How could they miss that?"

"He looks like he's thirty, though. Good genes, I guess." She shrugged. "But I totally agree with you on the gay thing. _Men_," she sighed, shaking her head. "So ignorant."

Sudddenly, Viktor burst through the doors again. This time however, he was close to tears.

"Miss Hathaway," he wailed. "He's fired me!"

* * *

So? What do you think? And I apologize in advance for any spell errors. :P

And Rose is basically supposed to be like Jennifer Lawrence.

Anyway, please leave a review and tell me what you thought. :)


	2. Chapter 2

"I didn't fire anyone," Dimitri said calmly, examining the contents of my fridge.

Viktor bristled. "Are you calling me a liar?" he asked incredulously. He turned to me. "Rosemarie, he's accusing me of being a liar!" he cried, throwing his hands up. Mia glared at him while Dimitri just shook his head.

"I just said I'd be cooking for her from now on. She can do whatever she wants with you." I just blinked at him. When his lips twitched, my temper flared. He was _teasing_ me. Whatever I want with –EW!

"Watch it," I growled.

"If you're doing all the cooking, it's obvious that I'll have nothing to do! I'm a chef, for God's sake!" He leaned into me. "Idiot," he whispered, rolling his eyes.

I sighed.

"I'll find something for you, Viktor," I assured him. "And you." I pointed at Dimitri. "Why do you have to cook for me? Viktor's been to cookery school. I doubt you could do better."

"I'm not better," he agreed. "But I am healthier. All this," he pointed at the beautiful French toast lying on the kitchen counter, "is full of fat. You can't eat that. And are these _mangoes_?"

"Indeed," Viktor said proudly. "Miss Hathaway loves mango pudding. They're all imported. From India."

Dimitri just looked at him. "It's September." Viktor shrugged. Dimitri took one last look at the fruits and vegetables and turned to the chef. "Get rid of everything here."

He was going to kill Viktor one day.

"Have you lost it?" Viktor cried. "Do you know how expensive some of that stuff it? How _rare_?"

"Exactly," Dimitri replied, not even flinching. "Nothing in here is seasonal or local." He turned to me. "Which is what you are going to be eating from now on."And he walked out without a word. _Again_. All of us stared at the door.

"Amazing," Mia repeated. I kicked down the urge to smack her.

"Rosemarie," Viktor sobbed, running into my un-open arms. "He's going to ruin me!"

"No he won't," I said soothingly. I patted his bald, shiny head. "Because I'm to go talk to him." With that, I shoved him into Mia and chased after the Thor who walked out my door.

Ha. I should've become a poet.

"Get rid of him, Rosemarie!" Viktor shrieked from the kitchen. How I wish I could.

It wasn't hard to find him. The front door was open and Dimitri was outside on the steps, tying his shoe laces. "Okay, first of all, stop walking out like that," I said. He ignored me. "And second, stop giving Viktor a heart attack." He finally looked at me.

"What do you mean?"

I sucked in a breath. It wasn't hard to forget that he was so gorgeous. He always looked either bored or pissed off and almost every word he spoke made me want to punch him. But now...he was just_perfect_. The soft sunlight made his hair shine and his eyes glow. He squinted a little as he looked up at me, his mouth slightly open. I was mesmerized. He was so _beautiful._

_I have a boyfriend. I have a boyfriend! Stop it stop it stop it-_

He raised an eyebrow.

"Um," I said, turning away to hide my blush. "The getting rid of food thing. Freaks him out." I remembered something. "And he is _not_ my boyfriend," I snapped, all traces of attraction gone.

Dimitri's lips twitched again.

"I'm serious," I insisted. "I have a boyfriend. Who is _not_ him."

"Alright. Third?"

"What?" I asked, wishing I could raise an eyebrow.

"Third on the list," he said slowly, like I was mentally retarded. "You were listing the things I should or shouldn't do."

"Are you actually going to follow any of them?"

"I doubt it."

I wanted to strangle him. "Third, what exactly am I going to eat? And are you leaving?" I asked hopefully.

He barked out a laugh. "Not a chance. We're going to the farmer's market."

"A _what?_"

"Do you not know what that is or are you just saying that in utter disbelief?"

"I don't know what that is," I admitted. He didn't look too surprised.

"It's a place where farmers sell their produce. We're going there because it's fresh, local and seasonal."

"Oh, okay," I said, nodding my head. "Wait, _we_?"

"Yes, we," he replied, standing up. I was instantly dwarfed by him. He was over a foot taller than me. "It'll be a good experience for you. I'm guessing you don't know how to pick out fruits and vegetables?" I shook my head.

"Then you're definitely coming. You need to know this."

"Going somewhere?" We both turned to the doorway. Mia stood there, smiling not so innocently next to a sullen Viktor.

"Farmer's market," I told her. She looked stunned.

"Viktor," Dimitri said, addressing the chef for the first time. "I want you to clear the _entire_ house of food."

I nudged him. "Remember what I said about not giving him heart attacks?"

Dimitri took note of Viktor's faint expression. "Please." I snortedand shook my head. Ignoring me, he continued. "Leave it all on the kitchen table. I'll see what we can use and what we can't." Viktor looked at me for conformation.

"Do whatever he wants," I said wearily. I was starting to feel really sleepy. "Do we have to go now?" I asked Dimitri. "It's barely seven thirty."

"The earlier we go, the fresher the food. And it'll be less of a problem for you too." I got what he meant. Paparazzi. Many of them had the common sense -unlike _someone_ -to start work at nine.

"Will they even be open? The market I mean."

"There's one place that I know," he told me. "It's a little far away, but they'll be open." I yawned as he walked up to Viktor. "Can I have your number?" he asked softly.

My eyes widened. Was Dimitri _gay?_

_NOOOOOOOO!_

Viktor looked shocked. He just blinked.

"I didn't mean to be rude," Dimitri said apologetically. "I'm sorry about that."

Mia looked at me. '_OHMYGOD'_ she mouthed. I just gaped at the men.

Dimitri pulled out his phone. "I need to get some stuff from the supermarket, but I'm pretty sure you'll have some of the ingredients," he explained, handing over his phone. Viktor took it with shaking hands and looked at Dimitri with an awestruck expression. "I'll call you when I'm there," Dimitri continued, "and you're going to help me make sure I don't get stuff which you already have. I'd hate for things to go for waste."

I was going to cry.

Viktor looked like he was going to cry too, except that it would be tears of joy. He gazed at Dimitri with shining eyes. "Of course," he mumbled and hastily punched in his number. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"Dimitri."

Viktor smiled brightly. "Dimitri," he said slowly, as though he was tasting some exotic food.

_Viktor! Shame on you! You have a boyfriend!_

Unfortunately, my telepathic connections failed to send him the message. Viktor continued to ogle Dimitri.

"Don't forget, Viktor," Dimitri said seriously. "_Everything _should be laid out on the table." Mia hid her laugh poorly with a cough. Viktor looked like he was about to die. I wanted to face palm myself. Could he not _hear _himself?

"Of course," Viktor said, voice husky.

Dimitri nodded and stepped back. I pulled Viktor aside. "Shame on you!" I whispered furiously.

Viktor just sighed. "Rose, have you _seen _him? Spiridon wouldn't mind." His eyes widened. "Rosemarie, you _cannot_ get rid of him, do you understand? You absolutely can't! I'll quit if you do!" I rolled my eyes. He was already jobless. Big difference that would make. Dimitri honked from inside his car.

"I have to go," I said quickly. "Don't forget to feed Liss and Avery, okay? You have to search for them, though." We air kissed and with one final I-don't-know-what-the-hell-I'm-getting-myself-into glance at Mia, I hurried to the car.

"What the hell was that about?" I asked when I was seated. Dimitri pulled out of the parking lot.

"What do you mean?"

"Whatever you said to Viktor!"

Dimitri frowned. "I was just apologizing."

I shook my head. "Oh no, buddy, you weren't just apologizing. Are you gay?" I asked point blank.

He looked confused. "No. Why would you think that? And I just apologized, nothing else!"

I laughed.

I couldn't help it. I laughed my horrible, snort-y, loud, obnoxious laugh for about two minutes straight. Annoyance flickered across his face, but that just seemed to make me laugh more. Mia was _so_ right. Men are ignorant.

"Viktor," I gasped, "is gay."

Dimitri blinked. "_Oh." _His expression resulted in another fit of laughter.

"You...honest…honestly didn't realize?" I asked between spasms of giggles.

Dimitri shook his head. "I can see why he acted like that now," he sighed and then groaned.

"What's wrong?"

"The table comment," he moaned.

I grinned widely, my sides hurting from laughing so much. "You're in for it now."

He sighed again. "At least he'll listen to me."

I looked out the window, allowing the wind to ruffle my hair. We were heading for the outskirts, and the view was gorgeous. "I was pretty stunned," I said after a moment. "Viktor's incredibly loyal to Spiridon."

"Spiridon?"

"His boyfriend and one of my guards. Viktor's never looked at another guy," I said, giving Dimitri a side long look. "Until now."

He just shrugged. "Spiridon. That's a different name," he said, shifting the conversation away from him.

I laughed, recalling the memory. "I know right? His name was actually Eugene, but both of us agreed that he needed a more badass name."

"You do realize that it's the name of a saint, right?"

I nodded. "But it's different. And it sounds pretty badass to me. So I went with him to change it. He is now legally called Spiridon Scott," I said proudly. Dimitri's lips twichted. He never smiled.

"We're here," he informed. I looked out the window again. There was just a dozen or so tiny stalls with plastic tarps over them. A hand painted wooden sign was nailed into the groud. The words 'Farmer's Market' were painted in bright red with a stereotypical happy farmer holding up a bunch of carrots.

"Hey, Dimitri," I said, hopping out of the car. "I know you're a fitness instructor and all, but I was wondering if there was something else you could teach me."

He shot me a questioning look from across the hood.

"How to raise an eyebrow."

I swore he was going to laugh, but he just shook his head and walked to the market.

** X-Dimitri-X**

Rosemarie Hathaway was dangerous to me.

Ever since _her_, I'd always remained distant from my clients. Well, at least the female ones. I wasn't always like this. I was a lot friendlier, and even flirty. That's how I'd gotten close to _her_ in the first place. But once that blew up in my face, I couldn't let it happen again. So I turned into a jerk.

Thanks to my attitude, I rarely trained female clients anymore. When Mia had stepped into my office, and told me about Rosemarie, I was going to decline, but I didn't. Something just pushed me to accept. Part of it was Mia, with her big, sad doe eyes, but the other part was just me. Rosemarie was like a new challenge. Stubborn client, short time. Ridiculously short time. I was worried when I heard that she had only two months, but I accepted anyway. Mia was definitely not going to find anyone else. Other than that, I didn't think I'd have any problems.

I was wrong. So wrong.

Her voice snapped me out of my reverie. "I'm waiting for an answer, you know." I looked down at her. Her gaze was trained straight ahead.

"Hold one eyebrow down and raise your other one."

She finally looked at me. "Are you serious?"

I didn't reply.

I saw that look cross her face again. The look that said that she wanted to maim me. I hid a smile and watched her actually consider doing what I'd suggested. She shook her head and looked around. I didn't doubt that she'd try it in private.

"This place is crazy," she said softly.

It actually wasn't, but this was the first time she'd ever seen one. The market was basically numerous stalls out in the open with fruit or vegetables overflowing from their baskets. This one was actually small compared to the other ones I'd seen. I loved coming here, especially during fall because of the explosion of colours everywhere, from bright red tomatoes to dark green kale. The orange and yellow leaves around us added to the beauty.

"There are ones that are a lot bigger. You should see them in spring," I told her. I would've mentioned that half of the stalls were still closed, but then she'd start complaining about how early it was. "Do you know how to choose apples?"

She shook her head. I pointed towards one of the stalls and gave her some money. "Go and pick out five apples."

"But I don't know how!" she protested.

"Just try," I said firmly. "We'll go over them and then you'll know which ones were bad." She still looked doubtful, but walked towards the stall. I was about to go the other way when a thought crossed my mind. I turned back and hurried towards the stall. Surely enough, there she was, asking the guy at the stall for help. Both of them looked up at me.

"Stan." I nodded at the vendor. I knew him well. Stan broke into a toothy smile.

"One of your clients, I'm guessing," he said, pointing at Rosemarie. I nodded again.

"Do me a favour and don't help her." Stan just laughed. He was well versed in my methods. This wasn't the first time I'd brought a celebrity here.

"Long time since you've brought a girl, Dimitri," he rumbled. I shot him a warning look and groaned inwardly when I saw Rose's surprised face. I didn't want her to know that. "Don't help her," I repeated. "No matter how persuasive she is." Stan nodded and waved me off. I gave Rosemarie a stern look. "Don't. Cheat." She rolled her eyes and turned to study the apples.

I meandered through the stalls, picking out fresh produce. I did this around thrice a week, so this was a comfortable routine. My phone suddenly beeped. A text from Viktor.

_R u suprmarkt? done with de-junking_

I shook my head and shoved my phone back into my pocket. I didn't know how I was going to deal with Viktor. This was definitely the weirdest client I've ever had. My thoughts strayed to Rosemarie again. I couldn't believe I'd spoken freely. It wasn't really a big deal, but I'd wanted to maintain a strictly professional relationship. I didn't want her to tell me about Viktor. I didn't want to laugh or joke around with her. I didn't want to be friends with her.

_Do you really want that?_

I shoved that thought out of my mind and looked into my bag. Cucumber, kale, carrots, beans, tomatoes, mushrooms and sweet potatoes. I was almost done. I was examining a pumpkin when someone kicked my leg. I looked up. Rosemarie stood in front of me, looking annoyed. Her arms were full of apples.

"I called you like, five times," she huffed.

"I said five apples."

"Stan said I could take as many as I want." Her expression told me that she thought it was a sweet gesture.

"That's because he knows that I'll have to return half of them," I said drily. She rolled her eyes.

I walked back to Stan's stall and she followed me without a word. I saw her shiver slightly and frowned.

"Where's your scarf?"

"I gave it to Stan." I gave her a weird look. "He said his daughter was a huge fan," she explained. I didn't expect that. Not all celebrities were snobby bitches after all. I set down my bag, shrugged out of my duster and held it out. She looked mildly stunned at that.

"I can't have you sick," I said gruffly.

"You know I can't put that on, right?" she said, raising her arms slightly. Right. The apples. I frowned inwardly as I draped it around her shoulders.

So much for professional relationships.

I could feel her gaze but I ignored it and stared straight ahead.

"I finally noticed that you have an accent," she said after a moment. When I didn't reply, she continued. "Your name is so East European. Where are you from?"

"That's not really important," I said curtly.

She ignored my tone. "Bulgaria? Serbia? Hungary?"

"I'm not from Europe."

She frowned. "North Asia then." When I didn't reply, she shot me an exasperated look. "Fine. Be like that. According to me, you're from Blankistan."

I finally turned to look at her. "You do know that that's not even a place, right?"

She rolled her eyes. "Do you think I'm stupid?" I looked at her.

"Hey!" she cried indignantly.

"You did say Blankistan."

"Yeah," she agreed. "As in blank-istan. Like fill in the blanks. Get it?"

"That's mildly offensive."

"So I was right!"

I gave her a look. "No, you weren't." I paused. "I'm from Russia."

"Oh." She didn't say anything else. When we finally reached the stall, I made her put the apples in one corner and began picking them up one by one. She'd only picked up apples which were dark red.

"This one's soft," I told her. "That means that it's gone bad. And if it's too dark, it's spoilt."

She nodded and pulled one out. "Is this good?" she asked, holding it out. My fingers brushed hers as I took it. I ignored the tingling in them and took one look at the apple. She grinned when I put it in the pile we were buying.

"Pick the ones that are round. They taste better when eaten fresh."

She learned quickly. She watched me with a satisfied smile as I paid Stan. Once we were done, Rosemarie literally skipped to the car. She turned to me, walking backwards.

"Now what?" she asked.

"You're this happy after buying apples?" I asked, astonished.

She shrugged. "I learned something new. And this place is beautiful. I just feel happy." She grinned.

"Rosemarie," I warned. "Watch your step."

"I'm fine," she said, still walking backwards. "And don't call me that. All my friends call me Rose, not-"

Fear flashed in her face as she tripped. She started to fall.

* * *

I hope you guys didn't fall asleep or anything because this was a crazy long chapter. Wonder who's the girl haunting Dimitri. ;) Muahaha. You'll never know.

At least for a few more chapters.

So, what do you think? Will Dimitri save her?

And THANK YOU SO MUCH for the reviews! Made me grin like an idiot and is the reason why I updated earlier. PLEASE let me know what you think about the chapter, Viktor, Rose, Dimitri, his POV just anything!

Thanks to Guest 1, Swedengirl, Guest 2, xtheseventhcharm and Demi for reviewing! (And of course,ff members too!)

Edit - I just skimmed through the chapter and found a LOT of mistakes. I'm really sorry about that,and if there are more, (which there definitely wil be), I apologize once again.

Also, a question just popped into my head. You know how they call Adrian and Sydney Sydrian? Well,what the heck do people call Rose and Dimitri? Drose? Dimose? O_o


	3. Chapter 3

I landed flat on my back.

For a moment, I just lay there, squinting at the sun, not breathing. Wow_._ I just fell down in front of this Russian God. My blush came slowly, warming my chest and slowly moving upwards till my cheeks were flaming red.

_"Ow."_

Dimitri came to stand over me. If I thought I was short before, I was absolutely microscopic now. So this is what it feels like to be an ant.

"I told you to watch your step," he said. "And thanks for killing my duster." And he walked away. He didn't even hold out a hand to help me up. Jackass.

"Thanks for helping me," I called out, sitting up. His behaviour just confused me. One second he was kinda nice and funny, and the next, he becomes _this._ I swear, he could give one of my old directors, Stan, a run for his money when it came to assholiness.

I stood up slowly, cursing under my breath. My back hurt like hell. "You're seriously more concerned about your coat than me?" I asked incredulously.

He didn't skip a beat. "Yes." _Asshole. "_And it's a duster, not a coat."

I rolled my eyes and made a stupid face behind his back.

"You know I can see you," he said, turning to me. A hint of a smile played on his lips. He tapped the window of the car. "It's this phenomenon called reflection."

I flipped him off.

He raised an eyebrow. "That's the best you can do?"

"Oh please. I know almost every swear word in the English dictionary. I'm just being polite."

"That's not a big achievement," he scoffed. "Now, knowing every swear word in the English _and_ Russian dictionary," he grinned. "Now there's something to be proud of."

"Care to share?" I asked, excited.

He shook his head. "You swear enough. Use what you have."

I sighed. I'd get him to teach me some other time. Or if I wasn't feeling lazy, I'd Google some words myself and surprise him. A question popped into my head. "Do you have bipolar disorder or something?"

He frowned. "No. Why would you say that?"

I walked to the other side of the car. I was going to regret saying this. "It's just that you're nice, human, one minute and the next, you're all rigid and mean."

He stiffened. "We should go," he said lamely. "We're late."

Yep. I regretted it alright.

* * *

I'd spent only approximately two hours with Dimitri and I was already fed up. Even his rare moments of niceness were gone. Our trip to the supermarket went something like this.

"No Nutella - no Oreos - absolutely no yogurt, dairy is fattening - I don't care how hormonal you are, you're not getting ice cream – no, you can't have sausages – ice cream does have diary in it. Yes, I'm sure -"and so on. I was annoyed ten minutes in and walked back to the car, leaving Dimitri to deal with Viktor on the phone by himself. Let him suffer. I really wanted to watch him squirm at Viktor's sexual innuendos, but all the food inside was tempting me way too much. I was already starving, and this wasn't helping at all.

"Can we eat?" I asked once he entered the car. He balanced the phone between his neck and shoulder as he shoved the grocery bags in.

"Viktor, I need to drive the car now," he said, with no trace of frustration in his voice. His face said otherwise. "I'll see you at home."

I burst out laughing. "That was the wrong thing to say," I whispered. He seemed to realize that as I was saying it. His expression turned tortured as Viktor said something.

"No, that's not what I-" Suddenly, he pulled the phone back and stared at it, astonished. "He actually hung up on me," he said in disbelief.

I patted his head. "Aw, don't worry. He's not going anywhere."

His face remained expressionless, except for the hint of annoyance in his eyes. Back to the poker face when I was there. Great. "You're food's waiting at home."

"Viktor made it?" I asked excitedly.

Yes!

"Yes," he smirked. "To my _exact_ specifications."

Oh joy.

The rest of our ride was silent and uneventful, thanks to Dimitri, who took absolutely no interest in continuing a conversation. When we _finally_ reached home, I ran up the stairs and into the kitchen. The monster in my tummy needed to be satiated. _Now._

And I froze.

Literally every piece of heavenly food was on the table, piled onto the chairs and even the entire kitchen counter. All my chips, cookies, Coke, chocolate and some other random crap from the ktichen. Not even the popcorn was spared! Lissa sat at one corner of the table, munching on _my _French toast. She choked out a laugh at my appalled expression.

I turned to Dimitri. "Don't you think this is all a little too drastic?" I gave him my most sad-adorable puppy face.

He looked unimpressed. "Not at all. This is exactly what you need."

Viktor suddenly materialized uncomfortably close to Dimitri. He'd even changed his clothes! He looked at Dimitri from under his lashes. "I've done just as you asked." Oh wow. It took every ounce of self control to keep a straight face on. Lissa may actually die from lack of oxygen, because she was choke-laughing again.

Dimitri looked incredibly uneasy. He tried to put some distance between him and Viktor. "Rose, can I talk to you?"

I laughed openly and pulled him out of the dining room. I leaned against the doorway with my arms crossed as Dimitri ran a hand through his hair, agitated. I idly wondered what it would feel like to run my own fingers through the strands. They looked so soft and silky-

"Can you please do something about that?" Dimitri began pacing. "Your chef is physically harassing me."

"I don't think I will, big guy," I said, grinning widely. When he shot me a dangerous look, I elaborated. "Look, you've taken his job _and_ you're bossing him around. No one does that to Viktor. I'm pretty sure he knows you're not gay and he's just messing with you." I did say _pretty _sure, not _completely _sure. "Besides, he may not be so co-operative if I say something." My logic was impossible to counter, and he seemed aware of that.

"You're enjoying this way too much," he muttered, stalking back to the dining room. I followed him after an impromptu happy dance. _Hathaway 1, Bellykov 0_

I made a mental note to ask Mia his spelling before I embarassed myself while writing his check.

Lissa was sitting alone. The two of them must be in the kitchen. Even without make up, she looked stunning. Her platinum blond hair was absolutely perfect and her skin was flawless, except for the hint of dark circles under her jade eyes. Like the rest of her family, she was ridiculously tall and skinny. She belonged on a runway, walking down the ramp, not doing hair and make up for others.

"You were up early," she noted. "And where on earth did Mia find that guy? Viktor's been prattling on about him for ages, and so has she. Now I know why." She shook her head, looking amazed. "Wow. Just wow."

"Don't be fooled by his looks," I preached. "I've come to know that he's a jerk."

"I know. Mia filled me inon that." She smiled suddenly. "Congratulations on the role."

"Thanks," I yawned. "Did she tell you Jesse's in it too?"

She nodded. "How do you feel about that?" Playing therapist was one of Lissa's favourite hobbies, and I was her star patient.

"I really don't know at this point," I told her honestly. A waiter walked out of the kitchen, a plate in hand. I looked up, excited. When he set it down in front of me, I just stared at him. "You're kidding, right?"

He looked nervous. "This is what the chef sent out, Miss Hathaway." I sighed and waved him off. Eggs and salad. Whoopee_ew._

"What are you wearing?" Lissa asked suddenly, eyeing my outfit.

I looked down, remembering that I was still wearing Dimitri's coa- _duster._"Oh. I didn't wear a jacket in the morning-"

"Idiot."

"-and I gave my scarf to a fan. So Dimitri gave me his duster." I lowered my voice. "It smells heavenly." That was true. When Dimitri handed it to me, it was not only extremely warm and comfortingly oversized, but also smelled _amazing. _I didn't know what he used, but it was spicy and musky scent that just suited him perfectly.

"That was nice of him," she said, laughing at my dreamy expression. "Why would you say he's a jerk?"

"Oh, you have no idea."

"He's incredibly gorgeous though," she mused. "You must be happy about fighting with Jesse, huh?" she said, winking.

I ignored the thought and concentrated on rolling the food around my plate. It _still_ didn't look appetizing. "This looks awful," I muttered, pushing the plate away.

"You need to eat, Rose," Lissa reminded. "You'll faint otherwise."

Normally that wouldn't have been bad, especially if it would be Dimitri catching me. But after this morning, I didn't doubt that he's just leave me there.

"Where's Avery?" I asked, shoving some greens into my mouth. I was so hungry, I'd probably eat dirt if they offered it to me. _Probably._

Lissa took a sip of her orange juice. "She left early. Modelling shoot."

That didn't surprise me. Avery Lazar was one of the top models in the industry. It was a surprise that she was actually able to swing by yesterday. She was always busy, flying off to some exotic location or the other. I used to envy her a lot before, but now, I just felt bad for her. Her work was tiring and _really_ hard, but she said she loved it and it suited her perfectly.

Avery and I had been friends for a long time, and she was actually the one who introduced me to Lissa, who was her cousin, and Jesse who was a close friend. Liss and I had bonded immediately, and I confided in her much more than I did in Avery herself. Jesse, on the other hand…well, we'd been at each other's throats for over a year before we finally started dating. Definitely one of the most dysfunctional relationships ever, one that attracted a lot of media attention.

"Where'd she go this time?

"Paris, I think." Lissa straightened. "Oh, I have news," she said, blushing slightly. "I...I met someone."

I stared at her in shock. "Seriously?" I squealed, on the verge of clapping my hands. Lissa had broken up with her ex, Aaron over seven months ago. Even though she was the one who ended it, she still didn't feel like dating anyone and missed him terribly. "Is he cute? What's his name? Where did you meet him? Are you sure he isn't a psychopath?"

"Slow down, Rose," she laughed. She looked down at the table. "I met him at Loui's around a month back."

I gasped. "I can't believe I'm just hearing this!" I said, outraged. "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"Because he was an asshole at first." She shrugged. "He works at the café." Loui's was our favourite hangout. It was this tiny, secluded little cafe which served heavenly pastries and delicious drinks.

I leaned forward. "Details, Liss!"

"Well, his name's Christian."

"Is he hot?" Her cheeks turned pink.

I grinned widely. "Looks like it's a little more than a crush."

She groaned and hid her face. "Rose," she moaned. "What do I do? I really like him and he's so funny and smart and-oh."she paused and looked up, shocked.

"What?"

_"Oh._" She looked at me and burst out laughing. "He's actually like a male version of you," she giggled. "No wonder I like him so much!"

"That's not possible," I said, dismissing the thought with a wave of my hand. "I'm unique, like an awesome snow flake. No one can compare to me. Wait, didn't you say he was an asshole?"

"He _was. _But he's actually really nice. And he asked me out-"

"Rose," Dimitri interrupted. I nearly jumped ten feet in the air. How the hell did he move so quietly?

"We need to get started," he said firmly. I was about to protest when Lissa stood up.

"I'll get going," she said quickly. She turned to smile at me. "We'll talk later, okay?" she assured and walked away before I could reply. Why do people keep doing that to me?

"I'm doing a background check," I called after her. "Seriously!"

* * *

With a heavy, very audible sigh, I followed Dimitri to an empty building away from the main house. The building had three rooms - one was a gym with minimal equipment, the other was an old ballet studio and the third was for storage. I've never been here at all, which was a shame because every room had huge windows and an amazing view of the property.

Mia had the place dusted down, so it was pretty clean. When we walked into the gym, I had a mini panic attack on seeing the machines. To me, they just looked like evil, gleaming machines built to torture people.

"I'm not going to start off with a lot," Dimitri said. "But you're still going to be really sore. You'll develop resistance quickly, though, so the pain will wear off soon."

"What are we going to do today?" I asked, eyeing one particularly terrifying machine.

"I need to see how fit you are so that I can hash out a schedule to follow. Rose. Look at me."

I turned around, surprised to find him just a few steps away from me. My breathing quickened. His beautiful eyes stared right into mine, and as much as I wanted to, I couldn't look away.

"Rose, I need to know that you're serious about this," he said softly, gesturing vaguely around him. "This fitness thing." When I didn't reply, he continued. "You need to be dedicated, disciplined. I'm not going to be there every single minute of every day to tell you what not to eat or to work out. You _cannot_ slip up, not even once. You have only one shot at this, and you have to remain focused."

I nodded. "I won't mess this up, Dimitri," I promised. His eyes searched mine for…something. After a few seconds, he nodded and stepped back, releasing me from his hold.

We were quiet after that, speaking only when necessary. He showed me how to do a few basic warm up stretches. When I was done, he asked me to do five push ups.

When I said I couldn't do one, he did a double take.

"You can't do a push up?" He asked, incredulous. I frowned.

"Hey, don't look at me like I'm a freak," I said uncomfortably. "And why is that so hard to believe."

He opened his mouth and then promptly shut it. "Because it's a push up," he said simply. "Didn't you pass high school? Because you need PE to pass high school."

"Of course I did!" I snapped. "And I was home schooled. So no, I didn't learn how to do a push up."

Thankfully, he chose to shut his mouth instead of express his disbelief again. He got down on the ground immediately and showed me how to do one. "Keep your palms flat on the ground, little lower than your shoulders." He lowered himself, his chest almost grazing the floor. I stopped ogling and mimicked his position. Dimitri turned to the side and nodded. "Okay, great. Now push yourself up," he said, rising up. When I didn't move, he stood up. "What are you waiting for?"

"I can't do it."

"Rose, you're not even trying."

"Uh, yes I am," I said, gritting my teeth. I tried to push myself up, but my upper arms didn't seem to work. I gave up and let my arms buckle under me. I looked up and saw Dimitri frown.

"You really _are_ weak."

I rolled my eyes and sat up. He then tried to make me lower myself, which I couldn't do either. Then tried to get me to do 'girl push ups' which were on my knees. I barely managed to do one. I could see that Dimitri was a little anxious, and I didn't blame him. Maybe he'd bitten off more than he could chew. A part of me yearned for him to keep going, to try and help, but most of me just wanted him to go away because I was so ashamed of myself. If I couldn't do a simple push up, how the heck was I going to do any of the stunts in the movie?

Dimitri didn't give up on me though. He led me to the ballet room and told me do a push up off the bar across the mirror. I took one look at my sweaty face as I lowered myself, and with a wave of determination, pushed myself off.

I did it!

"Oh my god," I whispered. "I did it. I did it." I looked at Dimitri and grinned. "I did it, I did it, I did it!" I squealed, jumping up and down

"Stop it," Dimitri laughed warmly. "You sound like a frog."

"But I still did it."

He face softened. "Yeah, you did." My obnoxious grin faded into a slight smile. I gazed into his eyes, certain that I'd seen a _hint_ of pride in them. And suddenly, his eyes hardened and he shut me out again.

"You do realize that you didn't do an actual push up, right?"

I scowled. "Thanks for taking that away from me."

"I'm not going to coddle you, Rose," he said quietly. "This is progress, but not enough to celebrate."

I knew his niceness wouldn't last.

"You're going to be doing eight sets of twelve on these-" he gestured to the bar-"every day. You'll also stay in the plank position for as long as you can. This'll build your upper body strength, so hopefully, you'll be able to do a real one next week."

I bit back a groan, knowing that it would sound really whiny. I just nodded and told him to continue.

We did a variety of other tortures after that. Sit ups, crunches, squats, jumping jacks and jump rope. He even showed me this horrendous thing called a burpee and told me that I'd start doing those next week. I was one hundred percent sure that I'd end up looking like a beached whale if I tried. By the time we were done, it was nearly one thirty. My entire body ached, and I was light headed from the lack of food.

When Dimitri finally said we'd eat, I literally collapsed in relief. He just shook his head and left me there. I went back inside ten minutes later, groaning with each step.

Mia was waiting for me on the steps. "Oh, there you are." She muffled her giggles with a cough.

I rolled my eyes. "Feel free to laugh," I muttered. When she did, I glared at her. "I didn't mean that."

"You look like hell," she said helpfully, matching my turtle-slow pace.

"I feel like hell," I grumbled, rolling my shoulder. "My whole body is numb and achy at the same time."

"Well," she said. "I don't know if this'll help, but something came for you this morning." I couldn't care less. All I wanted was food, ice cold water and a warm bed-

I groaned.

Right there, in the middle of my hall, was a gigantic bouquet of crimson roses. And I mean _gigantic._ It was taller than me, and nearly double my width. I didn't even need to read the card to know who sent it.

"'I'm sorry,'" Mia read. "'I want to say a lot more, but the card's too small. Please call me. Love, Jesse.'" She handed the card. I held it in front of my face with both my index fingers and thumbs and then slowly ripped it down the middle. Screw him. Did he honestly think that sending me flowers that I _hated_ was the way to win my heart back? I shook my head at his blatant idiocy. Tossing the pieces aside, I shuffled into the dining room.

"I think it was a sweet gesture."

"I hate roses," I grumbled, dropping into a chair. "I don't know why everyone thinks it's insanely comical to give me rose things. Lissa and Avery do it. Even _you_ do it."

"Because it_ is_ funny," Mia shrugged. "Anyway, I just wanted to see how you were doing. Jesse even tried calling me, by the way."

"Don't care," I said, my eyes on the kitchen door. "Viktor! Come _on_, I'm hungry!"

He walked out of the kitchen a few seconds later, two plates in hand. He set one down for me and the other for Mia.

"What fish is this?" I asked, poking the white square with my fork.

"Steamed sea bass, with green salad," he replied, smiling. "Dimitri told me a secret to make this taste just _fabulous._" Mia choked on her water and coughed hard. He said the word 'secret' in the way that made you think it was something dirty.

"It's not a secret, Viktor," Dimitri said wearily, emerging from the kitchen. He held two more plates in hand. He handed one over to the chef and sat down next to Mia. I was a little disappointed that he didn't choose the empty one next to me. Viktor plopped down next to me and inhaled deeply.

"It smells_ fantastic,_" he said, looking straight at Dimitri.

I prodded the fish, eyeing it warily. I'd eaten steamed fish only once before, and it had tasted absolutely disgusting.

"It's not poisoned, Rose," Dimitri sighed, pointedly ignoring Viktor.

"And it tastes fantastic," Mia said, looking shocked. She looked at Dimitri and then at Viktor. "You two make an amazing team." I saw the sly look in her eye when she said that, as did Dimitri. If looks could kill, Mia would be dead by now. I let out a strangled laugh while Viktor beamed in delight.

"We do, don't we?" he asked, gazing across the table. Dimitri looked down, suddenly finding something _very_ fascinating in his food. Without thinking, I put the fork into my mouth. Everyone looked up as I chewed, waiting expectantly for my verdict.

I moaned in sheer happiness and dug in with full gusto.

"You like?" Viktor asked happily.

"I _love_!" I exclaimed, giving him a one armed hug. "You two really do make an amazing team." There was no doubt that Viktor was planning his wedding to Dimitri. When I looked up, I expected him to give me a glare akin to the one he gave Mia, but his expression was...soft. And genuinely happy. As Mia and Viktor chattered on, we just stared at each other. I expected a spark or something, like in the movies, but his gaze just made me feel all warm and tingly, something Jesse hadn't been able to do for quite some time now. I lifted my hands and held the tips of my ears and mouthed, _'Sorry'_. His lips twitched. Never a smile for me.

"Dimitri, what about the yoga thing for Rose?" Mia asked. I looked away, annoyed that she'd interrupted our moment.

Dimitri looked confused for a second. "Oh. Right, I'd forgotten about that."

"What yoga thing?" I wondered.

"Mia gave me a great idea. Yoga would really help with flexibility and toning, and so would Pilates."_ Yay_. More work. "Luckily," Dimitri continued," I know the perfect instru-"

One of my security walked in that moment, interrupting Dimitri."Miss Hathaway," he said. "Someone's here to see you." I looked up at him questioningly.

"I'm not just someone, you know," said an all too familiar voice. _No no no-_

He strolled in like he owned the place.

"Dimitri," I said, standing up. My voice was ice cold. "Meet my boyfriend, Jesse Zeklos."

* * *

**A/N - You guys ROCK.**

THIRTY FIVE REVIEWS!? I was so happy I could've died! All of you just made my day (night), and I'm so insanely happy that you guys loved this story! Anyway, I think I'm unconciously trying to compete with myself, because my chapters keep getting longer and longer. I seriously hope that that's okay with you guys, if you want them shorter, I'll seriously do it (because 4000 words in a chapter is CRAZY long)

And I won't be updating in a while. I actually wasn't going to, but your reviews were the reason why I sat up for four hours straight and worked on this chapter. It's 3 in the morning, and I'm really sleepy/excited. I can't thank you enough.

And since I'm sleep depried, I'm sorry for any glaring mistakes. I've tried double checking the fic, but a few errors always escape my notice.

And thank you to - Caneya, Guest 1, Guest 2 and xtheseventhcharm for reviewing too. :)

Also, am I the only onewho can't do a push up? Because I really can't. I'm pretty fit (as in, I can run for over half an hour and a moderate-fats pace) but I just have 0 upper body strength. I don't know if I've captured how hard it is to do a push up in this chapter, but I seriously feel like that whenever I try.

Okay, I'll shut up now.


	4. Chapter 4

Flashback is symbolised by_ -x-_

* * *

Jesse's brilliant smile faltered when he glanced at Dimitri's intimidating figure. His gaze shifted back to me again. "Can we talk, Rose?" he asked softly. "Please?"

I hated it when he used that voice, and he knew that. It was really hard to refuse to anything he wanted when he spoke like that. I bit back a sigh as I stepped away from the table. I was going to have to deal with this some time, might as well get it over with. Ignoring his open hand, I stalked back to the living room. Jesse followed close behind and sat down on the loveseat, patting the space nextto him.

"I'd rather stand," I said, crossing my arms. "And I don't recall asking you to sit either." I was going to make sure he was as uncomfortable as possible. I could see him struggle to not roll his eyes as he stood across from me.

"So this is how you treat your guests, huh?"

"You're neither a guest nor a friend at this point," I snapped. "What do you want?"

"Rose," Jesse sighed, moving closer. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way." He frowned when I took a step back.

"There's no other way you could've meant it, Zeklos. You called me fat."

"But I didn't!" he said, running a hand through his hair, agitated. "I _never_ called you fat!"

"Yes you did!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands up. "Are you calling me a liar?"

"There! You're doing it again!"

"Doing what?"

"Putting words in my mouth." He stood in front of meand gently grasped my arms. "I never called you fat and I never called you a liar!"

"You implied it though," I said, pushing him away.

"Ro, come on. You kept saying that you felt a little sick, remember? I asked you if you wanted to cancel plans, but you insisted on going."

Oh. That.

-x-

_I closed my eyes, willing the nausea away. I could feel Jesse's gaze on me as he wrapped an arm around me. _

_"Rose," he asked, his soft voice laced with concern. "Are you sure you want to go? We can always go another day, it's no big de-"_

_"No," I said, cutting him off. I sat up straight and took a deep breath. "This is our first date in weeks, and I'm not going to blow it off just because I feel a little queasy." My hands itched to roll down the window of the limo, but I knew I couldn't do that. _

_"It's just dinner, I'm sure we could do it some-"_

_"Jesse. I want to go," I said firmly._

_-x-_

"And you were suddenly okay after that, and you were eating normally. But I was worried. I just didn't want you to get sick."

-x-

_"Are you sure you're okay, Ro?" Jesse asked for the hundreth time. I sighed. _

_"Yes, I'm perfectly alright." And I wasn't lying. Maybe it was just motion sickness or something, because my nausea was gone and my impossible appetite had returned. I looked up as the waiter came around to take our order for desserts. "I'll have a Choco Fudge Brownie," I said, smiling at the him. He gave me a curt nod, but I caught him smirking as he glanced at my body. _

_Jesse lifted an eyebrow. "Are you sure you want that?"_

_-x-_

Maybe it was because of all the gossip magazines talking about my weight gain, or maybe it was just because I wasn't in the best of moods, but I'd unnecessarily lashed out at Jesse for something he didn't even do. I'm seriously going to get that imbecile at the restaurant fired.

Jesse looked at me triumphantly. He'd won and he knew that.

_Was this even a game to win in the first place? Why does it always a competition between us?_

"I'm sorry if that came out wrong, but I never meant it that way, Ro," he added softy. "You're beautiful, and I'd never ask you to change."

Tears pricked my eyes and I turned away to hide them. Jesse held my wrist and pulled me into a hug. I buried my face into the crook of his neck. "I'm sorry," I whispered.

He rested his head on the top of my head. "It's okay," he murmered. "It was kinda my fault too-"

"Um, Rose," a voice interrupted. Both of us looked up, still in each other's arms. Mia stood by the doorway.

"Your new yoga instructor is here."

"Already?"

"When I called, she said she was in the neighbourhood. She said that she'd just swing by to hash out a rough schedule for you."

"I'm coming," I sighed and looked up at Jesse. His blue eyes used to mesmerize me, make my heart flutter every time I looked into them. But now, I didn't feel anything. When he leaned in to kiss me, I imagined warm brown eyes closing instead of his blue ones and my fingers running through long, dark mahogany strands instead of his golden ones.

What the hell was wrong with me?

A throat cleared from somewhere in the room. We broke away, Jesse looking mildly irritated. When I saw Mia by the doorway, I stepped away from Jesse. I felt my cheeks heat up under her hawk like gaze. Did I seriously imagine Dimitri kissing me instead of Jesse? God, I needed help.

"I'll see you later," Jesse promised, kissing my cheek. While Mia ushered him out, I walked back to the dining room. Laughter rang out from the room, sounding suspiciously male, which ruled out Viktor. I stepped into the dining room, wondering who could make Dimitri laugh.

Dimitri looked at me over his shoulder, still grinning. "Rose," he said, stepping aside. "This, is your new instructor, Tasha Ozera."

* * *

Boom. Bet you didn't see that coming.

Now who could be the mystery girl? Clearly it isn't Tasha, since Dimitri seems pretty happy to be around her.

Anyway, this was pathetically short. Big surprise for me. But I didn't really have the time to work on it and besides, I wanted Tasha to have her own chapter. I'mnot really happy with this though, but I couldn't think of anything else to add to it. As usual,you guys are amazing,thank you SO much for the reviews! Sorry for any spelling mistakes (Which there will be, I'm sure)

And I also don't really check my PMs,so I'm going to be replying to your reviews riiiight here.

**Demi -**I'm sorry to disappoint you this time. :P Promise the next one will be longer though. :)

**bboop12** - Viktor and Dimitri will be there in the next chapter, I promise. Much more fun coming up.

**RoBiNiSmYbOo - **There's no fun without cliffhangers. ;)

**XBeautifulChaosX** - Haha, glad you liked him. He'll make an appearance in the next chapter, don't worry. There's going to be endless harassment from him.

- Glad to know I'm not alone. I'm actually pretty fit, but I'm not flexible. I can't even touch my toes. :P I use my height as an excuse. Pathetic,I know.

**xtheseventhcharm** - It's a girl. It's_ always_ a girl.

**Guest** - Added drama. :D

**RozaRocks** - Yes! More company for me. It's pathetic to even see me try, IMO. And I think I'd fail on purpose just sothat I'd have an excuse to be around him :P And he's not falling for her _yet. _He's supposed to be an asshole at first, so I think not helping her counts. I was actually going to have him catch her,but that would be pretty predictable _and _it'd give the impression that he already likes her. Thanks for the detailed review. I really LOVE reading long reviews. :)

**Anonymous - **Glad you liked it. :)

** XxXLost-In-The-CrowdXxX -  
**This was short, hope I didn't disppoint try to update soonerwith longer chaps. :)

**Rose-loves-Dimitri **- I actually laughed when I read your review XD

**swedish desigirl - **Glad you liked it. :)

Also, we pretty much have the main cast!What do you guys think of Christian? I didn't see any proper pictures of him (a lot of them are B&W ?) I seriously can't wait for the movie!

Also I recently watched Pitch Perfect (has anyone seen that movie?) It's freakin amazing and absolutely hilarious (and gross) and their mash ups are incredible (especially the last one) If you guys haven't, I really think you should, ASAP!

Read and Review!


	5. Chapter 5

"It's Natasha, actually, but please, don't ever call me that. Pleasure to meet you Rose," Tasha said, smiling widely.

She was so _pretty._ Long, raven black hair and sparkling blue eyes. It was clear she was taller than me even though she was sitting. Also, she had killer style. I wanted to steal her baby blue cardigan.

I smiled. It was hard not to when she was so bubbly (but not annoyingly so). "Pleasure's all mi-"The words died in my mouth as Tasha turned to face me fully. My eyes widened.

Raised purplish scars snaked over her cheek, marring her beauty. It looked like something had ripped into her cheek and torn out the flesh. I realized that I was gaping and quickly closed my mouth. I itched to ask her about it, but common courtesy kept me from doing so. In another time, I would've asked anyway, but the media perceived being upfront as rude.

Tasha didn't seem to notice my slip up, thanks to Viktor,who strolled in from the kitchen. His flamboyance was hard to ignore. Viktor came to a sudden halt, his expression frozen when he saw Tasha. I shook my head at him discreetly, and thankfully, he didn't bother to question her.

"Well," he said, standing beside me, "It seems like I can't leave you alone for ten minutes without something new happening." He pouted. Actually pouted,with the whole lower lip jutting out and eyes all big and doe like. I don't think I'd ever seen a guy do that, and it delighted me to see that horrible face aimed right Dimitri. Tasha raised an eyebrow –could everyone except me do that? How does everyone know how to do that? – and Dimitri squirmed in his seat.

Hehehe.

Dimitri put an arm around Tasha and smiled, still slightly uncomfortable. "Viktor, this is Tasha. She's an old friend of mine who's going to be training Rose along with me."

Viktor and I eyed Dimitri's arm around Tasha. He caught our stares and dropped it, looking away.

"Are you two," I gestured vaguely between them, "…together?" I hope the desperation in my voice wasn't heard. Viktor's face grew dark at that thought.

Tasha laughed. "This wouldn't be the first time someone assumed that, but no we're not." She looked at Dimitri. "We just go way back."

"We grew up together," Dimitri smiled.

"Went to the same college," Tasha continued

"And just kept in touch," he finished. "It's hard not to when you have so much history."

Viktor looked slightly unhappy. I didn't blame him. I didn't like the way Dimitri said 'history' or the way they looked at each other. They even finished each other's sentences for crying out loud!

A beat of silence passed before Tasha stood up. "Rose, if you don't mind, I'd just like to see what I have to work with." She bit her lip. "I have to leave soon, so I promise it'll be quick. Dimitri said you had a tough afternoon?"

"That's an understatement," I muttered, walking to the doorway. "There's an old ballet studio outside. We could go there if you like."

Tasha grinned. "Perfect."

* * *

As we walked to the studio, I couldn't help but sneak a few glances at Tasha's face. I wasn't as discreet as I'd hoped to be, though. Tasha looked straight ahead and shrugged. "I know you want to ask," she said. "It's okay, I don't mind talking about it."

"Are you sure?" I asked hesitantly. "If it's too personal-"

She shook her head. "It's okay. It was a bear. My sister and I loved hiking. We used to hike up to the mountains at least once a month," she said, eyes growing unfocused. "After she was married, we drifted apart. Neither of us liked that, so we decided to go hiking once more and dragged her husband along as well." Her voice grew soft and she looked down as we walked. "He didn't want to go, but he didn't want to be the wedge between us either. So he agreed to come."

She fell silent at that, lost in her own thoughts. After a moment, she continued.

"We'd laughed at him, you know. He was decked up with all this extravagant hiking gear and kept going on about protection from the wilderness. We made fun of him, but he just kept saying that we were lucky to have him around." Shaking her head, she said, "I certainly was."

"What happened?" I asked quietly. We'd reached the studio.

She pushed the door open. "Moira stumbled upon a bear's cave. Before we could back away, the mother was already onto us. Moira didn't even last for a minute." She paused, taking in a ragged breath. "The bear turned on me and slashed my face, but before it could kill me, Lucas distracted it and yelled for me to get away. They had a baby, you know. Tiny little thing."

Tasha stopped talking and just looked away. I stayed quiet, not knowing how to comfort her. I wished Lissa was here. She always knew the right thing to say.

Tasha took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," she sighed. "I didn't mean to dump this on you. It's just that it'll be exactly 20 years tomorrow since that day."

She forced a smile and faced me. "Let's not waste any time, shall we?" She motioned for me to stand in front of her. "Can you touch your toes?"

I snorted, trying to lighten the mood. "Who can't?"

Her smile grew mischievous. "You'd be surprised. Care to demonstrate?"

I shrugged and bent down, reaching for my toes. My fingers barely went below my knees. Stunned, I pushed forward, willing my fingers to reach my toes.

"Knees straight," Tasha warned.

I locked my knees and tried again. Ignoring the shooting pain at the back of my patella, I bent as far as I could, and I couldn't even touch my ankles. I suddenly felt like Sheldon from Big Bang Theory.

Wow. That was depressing.

I looked at my arms in disbelief, and then at my legs. Had my arms shrunk? Had my legs grown longer? (Not that it was a bad thing.)

"Why don't you sit down and try?" Tasha said.

I obeyed, stretching my legs out in front of me.

Yep. They were definitely longer.

I tried and tried, but to no avail. Tasha didn't look discouraged. "It's okay, Rose," she said, patting my shoulder. "Lots of people can't touch their toes. Like I said, you'd be surprised. Not stand up, and try to join your hands behind your back..."

* * *

Fifteen minutes and various failed stretches later, Tasha decided that she had gleaned enough knowledge to work out a schedule. I was freaking out at my inability to move. She didn't look worried, and was confident that I'd be ready for the role.

I really doubted that.

"You just have to put in the effort, Rose," she said, walking to the gates. "It's going to be really hard, but you have to pull through. And I'm so sure that you will." She smiled.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," I mumbled, still not believing her. Did she have to be so upbeat? She gave me a knowing look, and turned to the gates.

"Wait," I called. "You're walking back?"

She nodded. "That's how I came and that's how I go. My car's busted," she said sheepishly.

Dimitri walked out just then. He wasn't as surprised as me that Tasha was walking home. I'm guessing she did that a lot.

"You're not walking, Tash," Dimitri said adamantly. "I insist on driving you home. It'll take you well over an hour otherwise."

"Dimka," Tasha said wearily, "It's no big deal. Just let me go already."

"Dimka?" I asked, curious. Tasha laughed in delight as Dimitri rolled his eyes.

"That's what his mother calls him," She said fondly, nudging his arm. "It's his nickname in Russian."

I nodded slowly. At least it was better than any Americanized one. Although I would have _loved _to call him Dimi or Dim-Dim in public.

Dimitri grabbed Tasha's hand and gently pulled her to his car. "I'm not taking no for an answer," he said, opening the passenger seat. "I'll see you tomorrow, Rose," he said without a backward glance.

_Ouch._ That stung. For some reason, tears prickled my eyes as I watched them drive away. When Dimitri laughed at something Tasha said, I turned away and slammed the door shut.

* * *

Lissa couldn't figure out why I was upset. That makes two of us.

Was I actually _jealous_? That didn't even make sense! I'd known Dimitri for _one_ day! How could I be jealous of Tasha? That couldn't be it, right? Also, physical attraction aside, I hated him! He was such an asshole to me sometimes while being uber sweet to _everyone _else!

"Maybe you're jealous of what they have," Lissa said when I voiced out my thoughts.

"They're not together, Liss," I reminded her. "Damn, I wish I had ice cream. I could really use the sugar. And why is everyone taller than me? 5'7 is perfectly average for a girl, but _every _one is so much taller. It's not fair."

"Someone's being a bratty bitch today," Lissa said absently. "And Mia's shorter. Way shorter. Poor girl. Imagine what she must feel like."

"She wears stilettos to sleep," I grumbled. "And I'm telling you, it's the lack of sugar."

"You did say that they were really chummy," she said thoughtfully. "Maybe you want that sort of thing in your relationship with Jesse. And speaking of Jesse, you still don't seem happy about his apology."

I fell back onto my bed. "I don't feel it anymore," I sighed. "That _spark_? Poof," I mimicked a mini explosion. "Gone."

"Then break up with him."

"You know it isn't that simple," I scoffed. "The filming would be torture."

"What if you meet someone now? Someone who's smile makes sparks fly?"

I sat up. "Are you actually quoting _Taylor Swift_?" I asked in dsbelief. "And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"What if you meet someone you like?" Lissa said patiently, like I was a toddler.

She was really starting to annoy me. "I don't know, okay?" I snapped. "Can we please not do this now?"

We fell silent. I was craving sugar _so_ badly right now and it's not just a craving. I've always been an emotional eater, just like everyother girl on the face of the earth. I'd begged Viktor for something chocolatey, but the asshole refused thanks to stupid _Dimka._

"Christian wasn't there today." Lissa sounded sad. "He's always there on Thursdays."

"You have his shift memorized?" I asked, internally cursing Dimitri. I saw Lissa's cheeks turn pink from the corner of my eye.

She changed the subject. "I'm worried about Jill," she said. "She's really happy."

I sat up and stared at her. "You're worried because she's _happy_? What kind of a sister are you?"

Lissa rolled her eyes. "I think she's seeing someone. Only a guy can bring that sort of glow on a girl's face."

"What is wrong with you? Why are you so sappy and cheesy all of a sudden?"

"I don't know," she lied.

"Bullshit," I grinned. "Christian's getting to your head, isn't he?"

"Weren't we talking about Jill?"

I rolled my eyes at her not so subtle attempt to change the subject. She'd talk when she's ready. "I don't see why it's a big deal. It's just a guy."

"But why does she have to keep it a secret?"

"You're keeping secrets," I said accusingly. "Besides, it's no big deal," I repeated. "Avery's had secret boyfriends, you've had secret boyfriends, and so have I."

She ignored the jab. "I've never had a secret boyfriend."

"You kept Aaron a secret."

"Only at the beginning," she protested. "Wait, you've had secret boyfriends?" She didn't hide the hurt in her voice.

"Not a boyfriend, just a fling," I muttered.

"Who?"

I looked down, picking at the fluffy carpet.

_"Rose."_

"Islepwitson,"I mumbled incoherently.

"What?"

_"I slept with Mason,_" I said, irritated. "Happy?"

Lissa stared at me for a second, and burst into laughter. "You…slept with…Mason?" she asked in between giggles. "Oh, Mia is going to _kill_ him."

Shit. I hadn't thought about that. "Don't tell her," I begged. "She'll start ranting about how sleeping with employees will be bad repu-" I stopped mid sentence and stared at her. Lissa was always terrible at keeping secrets. "Did you say Mia would kill _him_?"

Lissa looked away.

"Oh. My. God." I exclaimed. "Mia and Mason are together?"

"They weren't before. They were just friends with benefits."

"_Ew."_ I wrinkled my nose. "I can't believe she told you and not me!"

"She didn't tell me," Lissa admitted. "I walked in on them some time back. She made me promise not to tell anyone."

"Ugh." Now I definitely needed sugar. I cursed Dimitri yet again. I still couldn't believe that he'd gotten rid of every single piece of junk in my house. I always stashed stuff everywhere, and so far, all of them were empty. Every single one-

Wait a minute.

I grinned slowly and rolled off the bed.

"Rose?" Lissa asked warily. "What's wrong?"

I didn't answer. Instead, I bolted down the stairs and to the living room with Lissa on my heels.

"Remember last month, when we hid candy around the house to see if the other could find them?" I asked excitedly, running up to one of the sofas. I yanked away the cushion and brushed my hand over the wood.

"Rose, what are you-"

"There was one place you and Avery never found." I said without looking at her.

"Rose, I really think you shouldn't-"

"And Viktor never knew either." With a triumphant grin, I pulled away a loose board, revealing a huge stash of mouth watering chocolate. Snickers, Hersheys Kisses, Milky Way, Mars, and so many more. With a happy sigh, I pulled out a Reese's. "I am so amazing."

"Glad to know you think that."

I froze. That wasn't Lissa. I turned slowly. Lissa stood quietly, shooting me an apologetic/worried glance.

Dimitri stood beside her, looking as pissed as hell.

* * *

1. I'm sick, and being a begetarian right now sucks because I keep reading about chicken soup. Whywhywhywhy. (And who the fuck gets a goddamn cold in SUMMER?!) And I hate being sick because it makes me bitchy and whiny. So if I may seem like that right now, I'm really sorry. :/

2. Do you guys remember that episode in BBT? I couldn't stop laughing. XD

3. I can't touch my toes. Pathetic is an understatement. I have the flexibility of a rock.

Also, what do you guys think of Tasha? I know she's supposed to be a bitch and all, but I really really liked her, and I just felt that the LS stunt was ...I don't know. OOC. (But the suspense..god. That was _brilliant_) And also, I love portraying the bad guys and nice. I don't know why, but I always do. (Keith from Bloodlines being the exception. I hate him. I can even think of something nice about _Isiah._ Yes. I'm horrible. (But I still hate him for killing Mase. :( )

AND I noticed that FF has fucked up. In my last chapter,the asterisk was supposed to indicate the flash back, but it never showed. I'm sorry if that confused anyone. I've changed it, so if you didn't really understand that part,it's a lot more clearer now.

Anyway, thanks for the reviews! Always makes me so happy to see them! :)

**RozaRocks - **You should never trust Jesse. I think we all learned our lesson the first time. :P

**bboop12** - Like I said, I love doing different stuff. :D

**Rose-loves-Dimitri** - Again, I laughed. Thank you so much, your reviews make my day. AND I KNOW AREN'T THEY AMAZING TOGETHER? AND DO YOU REMEMBER THAT SCENE - the DJ person asks Jesse (OMG I just realized that there are two polar opposite Jesses lol.) to get him some cheeseburgers and Jesse says 'Oh, I don't think that's good for you' or something and the guy just lifts up his shirt, looks at him abs and goes, 'Eh, I think I'm good.' ROFL. And when Lily makes a snow angel in the vomit, ohmygod, as disgusting as that was, it was the most fucking hilarious thing on earth. My friend and I were cringing and laughing so hard at the same time. I love that movie so much and I ADORE Brittany Snow's voice and I'm so happy that there's someone who is as obsessed with it as I am!  
THERE'S A BOOK. The movie is based on a BOOK. Amazon Kindle Store, here I come!

**peggy - **:P That'll come up in the next chapter, promise. :)

**MsRoseBelikov1** - Aaand you're probably going, 'WTF, Tasha's nice?!" :P

**BiggestPolarBearFanEver - **I swear that the next one will be even longer. And even though I reviewed, I had to say again, I LOVED your Swtching Lives fic.

**Lily** - :) So happy you liked it. :D

**CherrySlushLover** - I think it's a requirement for any sort of author to suck at fitness or whatever. :P

**Robyrosedimka** - Glad you liked it, and thank you for reviewing!

**xtheseventhcharm** - That movie is my most favourite one till date. :P Also, it's _always_ a boy for us girls too lol.

**AmyTheMoroi - **:D Thank you for reviewing!

**RoBiNiSmYbOo - **About Tasha, I KNOW. Aaand, just curious, and if you don't mid answering, how did you come up with your name? Because it makes me smile whenever I see it. It's like the most fun name I've seen. Especially the bOo part. XD

**Guest - **I'll definitely try to update sooner again. Thanks for reviewing, glad you liked it!

**Guest - **I love surprising people so much. Thanks for reviewing!

**Lilypad**- Glad you liked it. And, just curious, are you a HIMYM fan? Because that's the only place I've seen which calls a person Lilypad. Or if you've just taken the name of an actual lilypad,I apologize for my ignorance. :P

**Guest** - And I thought some people might find the personal stuff boring/annoying. I can't really help it. It just comes out when I write. And I'm sad about Eddie too. I felt the eact same way about Chistian lol.


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